Tuesday, 29 October 2013

Adults in their 20s, forced to live at home with their parents, have to find places to meet and their favourite location is often their car.

This insight came as a by-product of research conducted by WeLoveAnyCar.com for the National Car Awards published 19th August 2013. A spokesman said, "Detailed analysis of comments made in our 58,000 car reviews considered by the Awards survey revealed that access to cars by '20 somethings' for somewhere to meet up privately is becoming even more important now that more adults live with their parents."

Car reviews submitted by drivers to WeLoveAnyCar.com give an in-depth insight into UK motorists' strong and positive thoughts about their car. In the 62,693 Car Reviews so far submitted to Britain's largest car review site, 'love' is mentioned 6,339 times, 'fun' in 1,591 occasions and even 'sex' or 'sexy' in 289 car reviews.

According to The Telegraph article by Ed Cumming on 19th August 2013, the number of Britons aged between 20 and 34 living at home has increased by 28 per cent, to 3.2 million. Agony columns feature many stories of adults in their 20s not being allowed to bring anyone home by their parents, who set the house rules.

Young adults crave privacy to develop their relationships. Their car is the one place where they can control the situation and set the pace. In a study published by Bochum University, Germany in March 2009; The Car Use of Young Adults, of 2612 adults in their 20s, the car was thought to be a major part of a young person's identity and symbol of their independence - and a means to socialise.

In the Aviva publication; Family Car Report 2012, it was noted there were "swelling ranks of cars on family driveways." There is evidence that, whilst the young cannot borrow money for a house, many make car purchase a priority.

This week, several lenders launched their 'help to buy' mortgage products in the UK. This may reverse the trend of '20 somethings' living with their parents and able to park their car outside their own house and come in from the cold.

Thursday, 24 October 2013

Now that 5% deposits are available through 'Help To Buy' schemes, many stay at home adults, who lost hope of buying their first home, suddenly have to find a cash lump sum and many sell their car as quick a solution.

﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿In a WeLoveAnyCar.com car review survey of 1019 people who sold their cars in the last 3 months,

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13.6% did so to raise cash or because they no longer needed a car. According to analysts at the car review site, not all of these were people in their 20s but they made up a disproportionate percentage of those who recently sold their cars.

Individual results in the WeLoveAnyCar.com survey have highlighted what is set to become a trend; stay at home adults who need to raise the deposit quickly before the opportunity to step on the housing ladder disappears.

One Volkswagen car reviewer told WeLoveAnyCar.com, "This was my first car and I loved it! I even bought it after my lease contract ran out..... I was buying my first house so i had to sell it and share my partners Polo."

Beloved Fiat 500 or a deposit on a house?

Although some stay at home adults have stored up savings, many have spent their cash on cars. Insurance group Aviva found, in their 2012 Family Report, "the driveways of Britain were becoming clogged with the cars of stay at home kids." Now, with 'Help To Buy,' prospective homeowners may 'Have To Sell' their cars.

Another trend seen over the last 10 years is the movement of people to the centre of towns and cities where 'no car' is an option. The convergence of these different factors; the need to raise deposits, availability of housing in towns and better public transport may mean more and more people turn their back on the car because it is practical and a necessity.

A spokesman for WeLoveAnyCar.com said, "When we look into what people are saying, through this and other surveys, it is clear that some young adults see their car as a potential solution to a problem they thought was insoluble. Faced with living at home, the car has been seen as the only place they could call their own. However, with 'Help To Buy' these same people are realising they may 'Have To Sell' to get a home of their own."

Another car reviewer clearly loved his Audi A4 Cabriolet but, in his words, "Loved the car, only reason i sold it was due to buying a new house..." Another Peugeot car reviewer said, "Loved this car, was only sold to finance house purchase. Wish I still had it, loved the space and comfort."

WeLoveAnycar.com is the biggest car review site in the United Kingdom with over 70,000 car reviews submitted in the last year. The site has car reviews on most makes and models of car and is free of charge.

Wednesday, 23 October 2013

Despite the car market recovery, signalled today by the SMMT, French car manufacturers recorded lower than average car sales growth than the rest of the market.

UK car buyers seem to be losing their taste for French built cars - particularly Renault and Peugeot. The WeLoveAnyCar.com survey of 58,088 car owner ratings found French manufactured cars rated lowest in their country based results.﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿

The ratings are made by combining scores on economy, reliability, comfort, driving experience and if the driver would recommend the car they own to others.

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As the ratings were an ‘average,’ further analysis shows that the French manufacturers score poorly on two main factors; reliability and that Renault, Citroën and Peugeot cars lacked excitement overall. The highest on the list – purely driven by Skoda – is the Czech Republic.

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Fiat and Alfa Romeo comprise the Italian entrant. The Fiat 500 is rated extremely highly and is only brought down by other, less appreciated, models. Owners loved their Alfa Romeos but reliability is the poorest of any manufacturer. Fiat have one of the highest sales growth figures, nearly 20%, whilst Alfa Romeo sales dropped 26% in the results published today.

Some manufacturers are hard to pin down to a country or origin. Global manufacturing, international partnerships and joint agreements make it difficult to measure. Ford and Vauxhall could be judged as ‘Euro’ cars as they are produced in many countries.

Cars manufacturered in the UK are also hard to categorise; the score reflects traditional brands like Land Rover, Jaguar and Aston Martin. Also many cars are manufactured in the UK but may be listed as Japanese. In fact 1 in 7 of all new cars sold in the UK are also manufactured there.

A spokesman for WeLoveAnyCar.com said, “In truth, car buyers must choose the car that’s right for them and use car review sites like ours to gather information. The key factor is volume of reviews. For example, we have over six thousand Fords of every variant on our Car Review site and buyers can see how motorists rated their own particular model”.

58,088 Car Reviews were submitted by verified owners of cars in the last 12 months in the survey results. Excluded from the above are manufacturers with less than 50 entries to ensure the results were robust. The WeLoveAnyCar.com Car Review site, which is free to use, now holds over 62,206 reviews and this climbs daily as owners submit their reviews by invitation. The review database is representative of the UK car parc.

A final comment by the site spokesman was, "There are very few bad cars. The French manufacturers rated 3.92 out of 5 whereas Czech cars (all Skodas) were rated 4.23/5 so there's not much between them when looking at the averages. The devil is in the detail and that's why the site is such an aid to users who need to gather information for their next car choice".

The average cost of a Wheel Snapper's car is £4,800 but Tarmac Togs spend more than £6,800 on better cars - safer, newer with more up-to-date technology.

5 Car Ownership

90% of Tarmac Togs buy their car with cash and part exchange. 30% of Wheel Snappers borrow money on their cars with almost 90% borrowing if the car is bought from new. The Association for Psychological Science shows that people who borrow feel richer but care less about their cars.

6 Wheel Snappers Forget To Protect

Experienced Tarmac Togs are twice as likely to buy a warranty whilst Wheel Snappers forget to play it safe.

7 Wheel Snappers Have More Accidents

25% of all road accidents - as reported by Government - are by those in their 20s and younger. Motorists over 65 account for just 11% of accidents.

8 Tarmac Togs Do The Research

Whilst the Wheel Snappers look at the pictures, Tarmac Togs do the research and are twice as likely to refer to information on car review sites regarding reliability, economy and performance - and they're doing it on line too according to weloveanycar

9 Wheel Snappers - Quicker But Less Experienced

Wheel Snappers may have slightly better reflexes but the Tarmac Togs have experience of more road conditions and know what to do to avoid accidents.

10 Up For Car Fun

Tarmac Togs love to dream about their next car... even well into their eighties. The biggest car review site in the UK shows that age doesn't mean the Togs don't want a better car. One reviewer on the weloveanycar.com site quotes: "the Audi is now 8 years old never had a more enjoyable car long may it run for us at 87 years & 73 years. It will be a sad day if it has to go. Perhaps one day if affordable an Audi A1 4 door".

Sadly it isn't only campaigners and some politicians who jump on the band wagon when it comes to older drivers and their ability to function well behind the wheel. Often Tarmac Togs' adult children seek to take the wind out of their parents' sails. Another review on the WeLoveAnyCar.com site quotes one contributor who said, "My kids told me I was too old for another MX5". He was 70.

When it is time to hang up the keys, most, if not all, Tarmac Togs will know when the time is right. Until then they can dream, enjoy their car, the freedom it gives and drive more safely and with greater competence than Wheel Snappers - most of whom will be in the same position sooner than they think.